Education

The other day I went to an elementary school to deliver anti-parasite medication to the children and give a little lesson to go along with it. The medication was donated to this school by volunteers, like a lot of other things here. Another volunteer and I read and acted out a story of a girl who never washed her hands, never washed her food, didn´t wear shoes anywhere, drank water from the lake, and went to the bathroom wherever she wanted. Then, she got a parasite, and the doctor and nurse treated her and taught her all the things she can do to stay clean and healthy. This story is very pertinent to the community here... people have to boil water in order to drink it, wash the fruits and vegetables thoroughly, always use soap and water, etc. and many children get sick just like the girl in the story. In addition to being educational for the school, the experience taught me more about the town and what some important issues are. It also taught me more about education in general. We learn all the time in nursing school how important patient education is, and here I´m seeing the huge variety of patient education, not only in the hospital setting.

On a related note, I also see a lot less teaching going on in the health centers here... doctors and nurses don´t always explain what they are doing, and patients often don´t ask. There will even be misinformation, and doctors sometimes give placebos to patients telling them it´s a treatment. It´s just such a different atmosphere from what I'm used to, and I´m really glad I was able to help teach some people, even in a small way.